BROOKLYN, Mich. – NASCAR and sprint car veteran Dave Blaney believes a failure on Jason Leffler's car caused it to veer into the wall in a fatal impact Wednesday night.

Blaney witnessed the crash at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway, where he was scheduled to race in two events later in a program that was canceled after Leffler's death.

"Talking with the guys in that race and the place on the racetrack where he wrecked, the odds are really good something broke on the race car and got him into the fence," Blaney said Friday at Michigan International Speedway, where he will race the No. 7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the Quicken Loans 400. "Even in those cars, you just don't see that kind of thing very often. You don't forget it's part of it, but anymore, it's rare. But it's still there."

Leffler was running second in the first 410 sprint car heat of the night at the 0.625-mile oval when his car hit the wall head on and then turned into another collision with the wall before it began to flip. Blaney said it was the first impact that left Leffler susceptible to serious injury.

"That's the part about it that wouldn't happen 99% of the time or even more than that," Blaney said. "When it broke, I think it hit the wall at such an extreme angle that it flung the left side of the car around and hit the wall. The driver is way more vulnerable then.

"That's a rare occurrence to make all that happen. Even when it does happen, it doesn't mean the driver is going to get hurt. It did this time."

Tony Stewart, a longtime friend of Leffler's, wasn't in attendance at the Bridgeport race, but the owner of three short tracks (including prestigious Eldora Speedway) said he'd been told the initial indication was something broke on the car.

"It wasn't the fact it was a sprint car," the three-time Sprint Cup champion said. "It was just the fact that it was an accident, and something went wrong, and we lost Jason because of it."

Blaney's progression into NASCAR mirrored Leffler's, winning championships in the World of Outlaws and USAC Silver Crown series before moving to stock cars. He has made 439 Sprint Cup starts since moving full time into NASCAR's premier series in 2000. He will race about 15 to 20 times in open-wheel cars this season, many on tracks similar to where Leffler was killed.

Blaney has no qualms about the safety at Bridgeport or any other short track he will race.

"It wasn't out-of-bounds fast," he said. "It's no faster than any other half-mile in Pennsylvania. That part wasn't an issue. Just circumstances."

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Jason Leffler, affectionately known as "lefTurn," died June 12 after a crashing on a dirt track in New Jersey. On June 9, Leffler competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
Matthew O'Haren, USA TODAY Sports

Jason Leffler, driver of the No. 19 Plinker Tactical/Hampton Inn Toyota, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 8, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images

From left to right: Jason Leffler, A. J. Allmendinger, Paige Duke and Clint Bowyer pose for a photo during an event for NASCAR fans on July 8, 2010 at the Best Buy Rotunda at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Hannah Foslien, Getty Images for Best Buy

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Blaney said safety has improved greatly in sprint cars since he last raced them full time in the late 1990s, putting them nearly on par with Sprint Cup cars.

"The seats are 100% better," he said. "They aren't as heavy or as stiff (as Cup cars) because you're not going as fast and don't have that big an impact. But they're the same shoulder arrangements, same head (support) arrangements. Everyone is wearing a HANS or some sort of device like that that was nonexistent years ago. It has come a long ways, but no doubt you're more exposed in those cars. That's what it comes down to sometimes."

According to his team, Leffler was wearing a Simpson Hybrid head and neck restraint system, which is one of six approved for use in NASCAR. The Delaware County (Pa.) Medical Examiner ruled Thursday that Leffler was killed from a blunt force neck injury, which occurs when an object strikes the body with force causing compression of tissue. Head and neck restraints are designed to prevent injuries resulting from deceleration trauma when the body is moving and strikes another moving or stationary object, causing stretching or tearing of body tissue.

Dave Blaney, who saw the accident that killed Jason Leffler, said he believes a part in the car broke.(Photo: Davis Turner for USA TODAY Sports)

Blaney said sprint cars have gotten much faster over the past decade through advances in the engines, tires and wings, but the chassis remains mostly the same, though rules have been added to thicken the frames. He is considering making some safety upgrades to his sprint car in the wake of Leffler's crash.

"Could they do more? Well, yeah, you can always do more, but there's the same thing (in NASCAR), you could obviously do way more," Blaney said. "I'm sure everybody looks at all parts of it when things like that happen. Obviously you should be more proactive with it.

"Do I feel (sprint) cars are unsafe? No. You can always compare them to something else and say they aren't. I don't consider them unsafe."